Dallastown's Lilly Cook to spend year in Spain

Wildcats javelin thrower hopes to learn language, cuisine while working skill on the side

Dallastown's Lilly Cook placed first in the javelin and second in the shot put last May during the White Rose Invitational at Central York High School. Cook will head to Spain in September as an exchange student for the school year. (Jason Plotkin — GAMETIMEPA.COM)

Lilly Cook will say adiós to her junior year at Dallastown, opting instead to spend the upcoming school year as an exchange student in Spain.

A state qualifier in the javelin throw this spring for Dallastown, Cook learned in November of the opportunity to study abroad. A friend had done it a year earlier, so Cook bounced the idea of her mother, Carolyn Cook.

"I said, 'Yeah sure, go for it,'" Carolyn recalled. "I thought, yeah right is she really going to go for it? Kids say things and they never go about it."

Her daughter admitted she thought the same, at first. Then Lilly, who started taking Spanish classes as an eighth grader, dug a little deeper. She read blogs and quizzed her friend, Ali Skouras, to get an idea of possible experiences as an abroad student.

When Cook applied, Spain and Italy were her top choices. The application process took about six months, as the 16-year-old wrote essays and conducted interviews. By April, she became one of 30 high school students in the Susquehanna Valley awarded a $15,000 Speedwell Scholarship to help cover expenses.

Just Thursday, she visited a Spanish consulate to receive confirmation of her visa, which is scheduled to arrive in the mail within three weeks. Come Sept. 3, Cook's mother will drop her off in New York City where she will depart for her overseas destination.

Lilly will stay in Tudela, the second-largest city in the province of Navarre. Her first hurdle will be learning the language. Although she has three years of Spanish, Lilly characterized her abilities up to forming basic sentences.

"If I hear someone talking I can put things together," she said, "but I don't think I'm that fluent. It will take me a while to get used to it."

To make matters a bit more challenging, simply speaking Spanish will not be enough. Various dialects are used in Spain, but Basque is most common in Navarre.

"They have Spanish and French Basque," she said. "Luckily, I'll be in southern Navarre."

There, she will attend Colegio San Francisco Javier with one catch: high school sports are uncommon in Spain, where athletic teams are formed through clubs. That includes track and field.

Cook found a club which only competes in running events, although she will be allowed to train and work on her javelin techniques. Without a coach who specializes in her events, however - which also include shot put and discus - Cook plans to correspond with Dallastown coach Justin Zelger through a video analysis application called Ubersense.

Zelger first used it last year for football but prefers it for track and field. Last spring, he took footage on his iPad and used it to teach athletes.

Cook first brought up the possibility of studying abroad during the winter indoor season. Since then, Zelger offered the idea of using the application to coach her from thousands of miles away.

"A lot of kids now would be afraid, not just to travel abroad but to give up their junior year," Zelger said. "I think what she's doing is great, looking at the big picture."

Part of that picture could help Cook in her dream of one day owning a restaurant or bakery. For a Spanish class project last school year, Cook chose to prepare the dish paella. By this time next year, she not only expects to expand her knowledge of the Spanish language but also its cuisine.

Of course, she worries a year away from competitively throwing the javelin could hurt her college prospects. The upcoming junior season is typically vital for the recruiting process, so her sophomore marks will have to do.

Zelger thinks they are good enough to intrigue college coaches. He added the winter indoor season by Cook's senior year could provide an opportunity to impress.

While she is away, another exchange student will take Lilly's place in the Cook house. She convinced her parents to welcome a Japanese exchange student, who arrives Aug. 15. The two have corresponded, and Lilly's family ribbed her that Momoka could steal her spot on the Wildcats' track-and-field team.

"She's told me she likes sports but she's not good at them," Lilly said, "so I'm not worried about it."

Contact Matt Goul at 771-2045.

FOLLOW ONLINE

While Dallastown's Lilly Cook learned about exchange students' experiences on blogs, she created one of her own. Check out www.lillyinspain.blogspot.com to read about her experiences leading up to a year in Spain.

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